1906–07 Burslem Port Vale F.C. season

Overview

Second Division

Despite the club's ever-worsening financial situation, Vale managed to bring back former top scorer, and former England international, Billy Beats; he was appointed captain upon his return. Beats was made a tenant of the Bridge Inn in Hanley to supplement his wages. Gambling that big signings would attract big crowds, right-back Hughie Dunn was also brought in from Bristol Rovers; inside-right William Dodds signed from Southwick; with former player Tom Coxon returning from Middlesbrough. Sam Bennion took charge of team affairs after Tommy Clare's wages were too high to maintain. The team started the season well despite an opening day defeat to Leicester Fosse, with three wins in their opening six games; 6,000 turned up for that opening game. Some 5,000 returned to the Athletic Ground to Beats' "generalship" account for a 4–2 victory over Lincoln City. This was followed by four defeats on the bounce. Still, by winning five of their ten games in November and December the club put themselves in a decent position by Christmas. The club were two different sides at home and away, thumping Stockport County 5–0 at home and losing 6–0 at Burnley. Their first away win in ten months came at Blackpool on 22 December. At home they also managed to defeat second-placed Chelsea by two goals to nil on 3 November. There were 8,000 fans in attendance for the Boxing Day home defeat to Bradford City, which raised £155 in gate receipts.

On 5 January, Vale beat eventual champions Nottingham Forest 4–2. This was followed by five straight home draws and seven consecutive away defeats. They had league leaders Chelsea "completely tied up" at Stamford Bridge on 9 March, only losing because of a dubious late penalty and having a goal themselves disallowed. Vale recorded their first league win in close to three whole months on 30 March as they claimed victory over Gainsborough Trinity. Heavy defeats at Hull City and Stockport County followed, before Robert Carter scored a vital winning goal in the reverse fixture at home to Hull City. A 4–0 defeat at Glossop left them needing to beat Blackpool on the final day to avoid a re-election vote. In the event a draw would have been enough, though they made sure with a 3–0 win.

Port Vale just evaded a place in the re-election zones, finishing in 16th, two points above the (potential) drop. For the second successive season, the "Valeites" had the weakest defence in the league, conceding 83 goals. They were poor on their travels, losing 16 of their 19 games away from home. Back at the Athletic Ground, they lost just three games. Billy Beats was top scorer with 15 goals in all competitions; he was ably assisted by William Dodds, Tom Coxon, Robert Carter, and Harry Mountford, who all hit double figures.

Cup competitions

The club had a good campaign in the FA Cup, showing they "meant business" with a 2–1 victory away at Swindon Town of the Southern League. They achieved their biggest ever win in the competition with a 7–1 trouncing of Northamptonshire League Irthlingborough Town, witnessed by 10,000 home fans. They took First Division Notts County to a replay in the second round, with 10,000 fans turning up when double that figure were expected. Vale lost the replay comprehensively 5–0 at Trent Bridge as they "never had a look in". Nevertheless, both rounds attracted 10,000 supporters at Vale, which greatly boosted the club's ailing finances.

In the Staffordshire Senior Cup, the club almost exclusively used their reserve team players but managed to reach the semi-finals, where they were knocked out by Aston Villa Reserves. To reach they semi-final they had to overcome struggling league rivals Burton United. However, this took two replays – a 7–0 romp preceded by 3–3 and 1–1 draws.

Financial collapse and closure

On 18 May 1907, Robert Audley and Sam Gleaves appealed to the directors to pump more money into the club and appealed in The Sentinel for local supporters to donate. This appeal was met with resounding indifference, and so the club resigned from the Football League on 14 June 1907. The Football Association had already issued their fixture list (which had pitted Port Vale against relegated Stoke for the first time) and were furious with the club for quitting so suddenly at such a late stage.

Robert Audley justified the decision to quit the league by pointing out that the season's £200 loss was as good a figure as could be expected in the future, with the past seven campaigns taking in an average of £1,500, supplemented by an average of £400 in transfer takings. He claimed "this total could not be expected to pay the expenses of a league club", especially with creditors closing in, the bank refusing an overdraft, and summer wages to be paid. That so few came forward to help the club in its time of need came to be the final straw for Audley.

Many of the players joined Stoke and newly elected Oldham Athletic, and Burslem Port Vale was finished.

Cobridge Church

Port Vale's history would have ended at this point had it not been for an unexpected twist. North Staffordshire Church League champions Cobridge Church were accepted into the North Staffordshire Federation League, which was still a very minor league. Joint-secretaries Millward and E.C.Brundrett had very big ambitions however. They sought permission from the Football Association to change the club's name to Port Vale and bought the old club's ground. To signify their roots, they renamed their reserve side to Cobridge Church. Technically, the Port Vale of before 1907 was a separate entity to the Port Vale of after 1907, however, spiritually the club continued its existence from its 1876 founding onwards. In December 1908, a group of ex-directors, led by Sam Bennion, bought into the club, meaning that the new club played at the same ground, had similar owners, a similar name, and played continuously from 1906–07 to 1907–08 and beyond.

Results

Football League Second Division

Main article: 1906–07 Football League

League table

Results by matchday

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Matches

FA Cup

Main article: 1906–07 FA Cup

Staffordshire Senior Cup

Player statistics

Appearances and goals

:Key to positions: GK – Goalkeeper; FB – Full back; HB – Half back; FW – Forward

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Top scorers

Transfers

Transfers in

Transfers out

References

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;General

References

1. Kent, Jeff. (1990). "The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale". Witan Books.
2. Kent, Jeff. (1990). "The Valiants' Years: The Story Of Port Vale". Witan Books.
3. ''What If There Had Been No Port In The Vale?: Startling Port Vale Stories!'' (Witan Books, 2011, {{ISBN. 978-0-9529152-8-7)
4. [http://www.statto.com/football/teams/port-vale/1906-1907/results Port Vale 1906–1907 : Results & Fixtures] {{Webarchive. link. (6 September 2015 . Statto Organisation. Retrieved 28 April 2012.)
5. Kent, Jeff. (1996). "Port Vale Personalities". Witan Books.